THEROBERT GORDON

UNIVERSITYABERDEEN

Gray’s School of Art

Stage 2 and 3: 2006-2007Contextual and Critical Studies – Mini-Programme 1

Elevating the OrdinaryNarratives on the Everyday

Tutor: Andrea Peachemail: a.peach@rgu.ac.uk (tel: 263692)

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ELEVATING THE ORDINARYNARRATIVES ON THE EVERYDAY

This programme will look at the idea of ‘the everyday’ and its influence in contemporary art, design and material culture. It will examine the history of how everyday objects have influenced art and design, and why ‘readymades’ continue to provide a source of inspiration to contemporary artists and designers. Using examples from contemporary art and design, the programme will consider different narratives that encompass the notion of the everyday including: Situating the Everyday, the Secret Meaning of Things, the Strangely Familiar and Elevating the Ordinary.

1. INTRODUCTION AND TIMETABLE

This programme comprises one of three mini-programmes running in Semester One 2006/07. Each programme runs across 3 weeks, and includes a lecture on Mondays at 1.00 pm, SB42 Scott Sutherland School, followed by seminars for Stage 2 on Tuesdays in SC24 Scott Sutherland School and workshops for Stage 3 on Thursdays in SC24 Scott Sutherland School. Seminar and workshop groups and times will be

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posted on the CCS noticeboard (by the art school shop). Students must come to the seminars/workshops prepared to participate. Weekly seminar can be found in the course outline. Assessment will be based on seminar participation and a written assignment. Details of the assignment are given below.

In Semester One Stage 2 students elect 2 mini-programmes for assessment; Stage 3 students elect only 1 mini-programme for assessment.

Attendance of ALL lectures (of all 3 programmes) is mandatory for all students

WEEK2006/07

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22 Oct

39 Oct

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630 Oct

76 Nov

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114 Dec

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Intro

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Mini-Programme 1Andrea PeachLecture Monday

Mini-Programme 2Allan HarknessLecture Monday

Mini-Programme 3Lesley ScottLecture Monday

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Seminar1

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Seminar2

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Seminar3

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Seminar1

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Seminar2

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Seminar3

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WEEK2006/07

125

Sept

22 Oct

39 Oct

416 Oct

523 Oct

630 Oct

76 Nov

813 Nov

920

Nov

1027 Nov

114 Dec

1211 Dec

13 14 15

STAG

E TH

REE

Intro

and

sign

up

Mini-Programme 1Andrea PeachLecture Monday

Mini-Programme 2Allan HarknessLecture Monday

Mini-Programme 3Lesley ScottLecture Monday

Chri

stm

as B

reak

Read

ing

Wee

k

Asse

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ent

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Workshop

1Thurs

Research

Training

Thurs

Workshop

2Thurs

Workshop

1Thurs

Research

Training

Thurs

Workshop

2Thurs

Workshop

1Thurs

Research

Training

Thurs

Workshop

2Thurs

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2. OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE CONTEXTUAL AND CRITICAL STUDIES MINI-PROGRAMMES

The Contextual and Critical Studies mini-programmes aim to encourage discussion of contemporary practice and theory with a view to situating that discussion in a wider cultural and historical framework, and enable you to make links with your studio practice. At the end of this series of mini-programmes you will be expected to:

Demonstrate an increased understanding of both the historical and contemporary context relating to art and design theory and practice.

Demonstrate, the ability to analyse and criticise your own studio work in relation to a wider cultural context.

Demonstrate an ability to undertake research relevant to the critical aims of the programme, using both paper based and electronic sources.

Build up confidence in discussing and sustaining a critical argument that is clear and consistent. Begin to develop self- directed areas of research in Contextual and Critical studies related to your

studio practice and emerging critical interests

3. STAGE TWO COURSEWORK

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Seminar Participation and AttendanceThere are three seminars for each mini-programme in Stage 2. The seminars will follow the theme of the lectures and will address a particular issue each week. Students will be placed in groups and are expected to contribute to the seminars as part of their assessment. For this reason, it is essential that students attend all lectures and seminars relating to their elected mini-programme. If for any reason, you are unable to attend, please email your tutor. Details of the seminar tasks and groups will be found in the weekly schedule that follows and will be discussed in the first seminar.

AssessmentThis semester you are asked to complete one piece of assessment. Select one of the two Mini Programmes followed and respond to the Brief in the relevant Course Programme. The brief for this Mini Programme is as follows:

Brief:There are two components to the assessment comprising a Critical Notebook and an Essay.

Critical Notebook Apply personal reflection and academic research to compile a Critical Notebook inspired by the mini-programme theme. Where possible relate the content to your own studio activity and interests. The Critical Notebook should be contained within a hard-backed notebook, no larger than A3, and can comprise writing, drawings, photographs, sketches and any other materials relevant to the analysis

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and criticism of your chosen mini-programme. It should contain your responses and thoughts in relation to the lectures and seminars, as well as any additional research and development you have undertaken in relation to these.

EssayUsing at least two specific images or objects, discuss how and why the idea of ‘the Everyday’ informs the work of artists or designers and why it continues to be an enduring and relevant theme in contemporary visual arts practice. Conclude by considering what you would understand by the term, ‘the Everyday’.

You are advised to limit your focus by selecting, perhaps, one aspect of the Everyday introduced by the programme and ensuring that you only discuss a limited number of images, artists, photographers etc. Remember that depth is always preferable to breadth in essays!

Your essay should comprise approximately 1000-1500 words, must be fully word-processed and include a comprehensive bibliography. You will be expected to reference all sources used in your text, using the Vancouver referencing system (see section 5: ‘Referencing Sources’ for details).

The latest submission date for this written assignment is: Friday 5 January 2007. If you have elected to take either Andrea or Allan’s programme for assessment, you should aim to hand in before Christmas.

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4. STAGE THREE COURSEWORK

Workshop Participation and AttendanceThere are two workshops for each mini-programme in Stage 3. The workshops will encourage students to develop their own line of study and research related to the theme of the programme. Students will be placed in groups and expected to contribute to the workshops as part of their assessment. For this reason, it is essential that students attend all lectures and workshops relating to their elected mini-programme. If for any reason, you are unable to attend, please email your tutor. Details of the workshop tasks and groups will be found in the weekly schedule that follows and will be discussed in the first workshop.

Research TrainingIn addition to the workshops, there will also be a research training session at the RGU library. This session will give students advanced information retrieval skills necessary to conduct self-directed research and is a mandatory part of the mini-programme. Details of the programme schedule and groups will be given in the first workshop.

Critical Notebook Assignment Stage 3 students will be asked to submit a Critical Notebook, which should explore a critical theme of your choice, directly relating to the mini-programme, your own studio activity and interests. The Critical

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Notebook should be contained within a hard-backed notebook, no larger than A3, and can comprise writing, drawings, photographs, sketches and any other materials relevant to the analysis and criticism of your chosen mini-programme. It should contain your responses and thoughts in relation to the lectures and seminars, as well as any additional research and development you have undertaken in relation to these.

Your Notebook will also include a formal written component, to be based on a critical theme of your choice and a specific research question to be developed in the workshops. Where possible your response should make links between the programme theme and contemporary practice, and where appropriate, with your own studio interests. Your final written assignment will be 2500-3000 words in length, fully word-processed and include a comprehensive bibliography. You will also be expected to reference all sources used in your text, using footnotes (see section 5: ‘Academic Presentation’ for details).

The submission date for the Critical Notebook for this mini-programme is: Monday 6 November 2006.5. REFERENCING SOURCES

RGU has adopted two systems for referencing sources: Harvard (also known as Author/Date) and Vancouver (also known as ‘endnotes’ or ‘footnotes’). For your written assignment, we recommend that you use Vancouver and Footnotes. You will find information on Vancouver in handouts available from the CCS website, at www.studioit.org.uk See:

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Vancouver Referencing System – Sheet of examples Guide to Academic Referencing

Please note that failure to fully reference quotations and sources constitutes plagiarism which is a serious academic offence with corresponding penalties. Consult your tutor if you have any queries about referencing.

6. EXTENSION REQUESTS

Extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances, which encompass serious and acute problems or events which genuinely affect your ability to complete coursework on time. Such circumstances could include: serious physical or mental illness (must have doctor's certificate), serious illness or death of an immediate family member or close friend. 'Exceptional circumstances' do not include colds, headaches, hangovers, poor time management, problems caused by Englishnot being your first language, and circumstances within your control (absence due to holidays, weddings, jobs etc). To request an extension please complete a Coursework Extension Request Form (available from your CCS tutor or School Office). This form must be submitted before the coursework submission date, and include written documentation (medical certificates etc.) where relevant. Claims are reviewed by your CCS tutor and treated as confidential.

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Coursework handed in after the hand-in date, which is not supported by a fully approved Coursework Extension Request Form will be recorded as a non-submission. There will be no exceptions.

Week 2 Semester 1 Monday 2nd October

1.00 SB42Scott Sutherland

School

LECTURE 1: Situating the Everyday : A Brief History Key Issues and Questions Brief History of The Everyday in Visual Art The Readymade Dada and SurrealismKey Artists, Designers and Works Fountain (1917) – Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) Gift (1921) – Man Ray Portrait of a Young American Girl in the State of Nudity (1915) Francis PicabiaKey Writers Sigmund Freud – The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, (1901) Marcel Duchamp – The Creative Act (1957)

Required Reading Marcel Duchamp The Creative Act; The Richard Mutt Case; Apropos of ‘Readymades’ in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, Kirstine Stiles, University of California Press: Berkeley CA, 1996, pp. 818-820

Anti-Art Gestures in Early Modernism – Duchamp and Dada, in Conceptual Art, Tony Godfrey, Phaidon: London, 1998, pp. 19-52

Additional Reading Dada and Surrealism: The Poetics of Everyday Life, in Critiques of Everyday Life, Michael E. Gardiner, Routledge: London, 2000, pp. 24-42

Surrealism – The Marvellous in the Everyday, in Everyday Life and Cultural Theory, Ben Highmore, Routledge: London, 2002, pp. 45-59

Seminar Assignment Reflect on the themes covered in the lecture and come to the seminar prepared to discuss the thinking behind Duchamp’s use of everyday objects in his Readymades.

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What contemporary parallels can be drawn?

Week 3 Semester 1 Monday 9th October

1.00 SB42Scott Sutherland

School

LECTURE 2: The Secret Meaning of Things : Material Culture and The Everyday Key Issues and Questions The Study of Material Culture Utility and Significance in Everyday Objects SemioticsKey Artists, Designers and Works Richard Hamilton – Just What is it that Makes Today’s Homes so Interesting (1956) Tony Cragg – Five Bottles on a Shelf (1982) Jake and Dinos Chapman – The Chapman Family Collection (2002)Key Writers Roland Barthes – Mythologies (1957) Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – The Meaning of Things (1999)

Required Reading Plastic, Roland Barthes, in The Everyday Life Reader, Ben Highmore (ed), Routledge: London, 2002, pp. 305-308

Animate Objects, Krystal Chang, in things, 17-18, Spring 2004, pp.166-168Suggested Reading Design and Order in Everyday Life, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in The Idea of Design A

Design Issues Reader, Victor Margolin, Richard Buchanan (eds), The MIT Press: Cambridge Massachusetts, 1995, pp.118-126.

Ideologies of the Everyday, in Cultural Studies, Will Brooker, Teach Yourself Books: London, 1998, pp. 41-48

Utility and Significance, in Toothpicks and Logos – Design in Everyday Life, John Heskett, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.36-54

Rough Magic: Bags [2000], Steven Connor in The Everyday Life Reader, Ben Highmore (ed), Routledge: London, 2002, pp. 346-351

Speck: A Curious Collection of Uncommon Things, Peter Buchannan-Smith,

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Princeton Architectural Press: New York, 2001Seminar Assignment Barthes argues that in capitalist, secular cultures, commodities are imbued with

magical qualities normally attributed to sacred objects, and that it is ‘the everyday’ which becomes ‘mythologised’. Come prepared to discuss an everyday artifact that can be ‘read’ as both object and sign, or object and ‘myth’.

Week 4 Semester 1 Monday 16th October

1.00 SB42Scott Sutherland

School

LECTURE 3: Stangely Familiar : Art, Design and Evocation Key Issues and Questions Objects of Memory The Souvenir Personal MuseumsKey Artists, Designers and Works Rachel Whiteread – Closet (1988) Christian Boltanski – Canada (1988) Tejo Remy – Rag Chair (1991) Gijs Bakker – Wallpaper Peepshow (1992)Key Writers Marcel Proust – In Search of Lost Time (1912); www.tempsperdu.com Walter Benjamin - The Arcades Project (1940)

Required Reading Photographs as Objects of Memory, Elizabeth Edwards, in Material Memories: Design and Evocation, Marius Kwint (ed), Berg: Oxford, 1999. pp. 221-236.

Memory and Objects, Juliet Ash, in The Gendered Object (ed Pat Kirkham), Manchester University Press, Manchester: 1996, pp. 219-224

Suggested Reading Introduction, Remembering as Cultural Process, Elizabeth Hallam and Jenny Hockey, in Death Memory and Material Culture, Berg: Oxford, 2001. pp. 1-21.

Seminar Assignment Many writers, most notably Marcel Proust, have written about the ways in which time

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and memory are encoded in our perception of everyday things. Come to the seminar with an example of work from a contemporary artist or designer, which explores the idea of memory and ‘the familiar’ using everyday objects.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ADDITIONAL SOURCES Ades, Dawn, Marcel Duchamp, London: Thames and Hudson, 1999

Archer, Michael, Material Culture – The Object in British Art of the 1980s and 90s, Southbank Centre and Hayward Gallery: London, 1997

Attfield, Judy, Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life, Berg: Oxford, 2000

Antonelli, Paola, Humble Masterpieces: 100 Everyday Marvels of Design, Thames & Hudson: London, 2005

Benjamin, Walter, The Arcades Project, Belknap Press: Cambridge MA, 1999

* Blauvert, Andrew, Strangely Familiar: Design and Everyday Life, Walker Art Center: Minneapolis, 2003

* Brooker, Will, Cultural Studies, Teach Yourself Books: London, 1998

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* Buchannan-Smith, Speck: A Curious Collection of Uncommon Things, Princeton Architectural Press: New York, 2001

Busch, Akiko, The Uncommon Life of Common Objects: Essays on Design and the Everyday, Metropolis Books: New York, 2004

Certeau, Michel de, The Practice of Everyday Life, University of California Press: Berkley, 1988

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1981

Dant, Tim, Material Culture in the Social World, Open University Press: Buckingham, 1999

Dixon, Tom, Rethink, Conran Octopus: London, 2000

* Droog Design: The Real Life of Objects (DVD), Glasgow Lighthouse Museum, 2000

Dunne, Anthony and Raby, Fiona, Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects, August Birkhauser: Berlin, 2001

* Gardiner, Michael E. Critiques of Everyday Life, Routledge: London, 2000

* Godfrey, Tony, Conceptual Art, Phaidon: London, 1998

* Hallam, Elizabeth and Jenny Hockey, Death, Memory and Material Culture, Berg: Oxford, 2001

Hall, Stuart (ed), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practice, Sage: London, 1997

* Heskett, John, Toothpicks and Logos, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2002

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* Highmore, Ben, Everyday Life and Cultural Theory – An Introduction, Routledge: London, 2002

* Highmore, Ben (ed), The Everyday Life Reader, Routledge: London, 2002

Jongerius, Hella, Hella Jongerius, Phaidon: London, 2003

* Kirkham, Pat (ed), The Gendered Object, Manchester University Press: Manchester, 1996

* Kwint, Marius (ed), Material Memories: Design and Evocation, Berg: Oxford, 1999

Lefebvre ,Henri, Critique of Everyday Life, translated by John Moore, Vol 1, Verso: London, 1991

Light, Andrew, The Aesthetics of Everyday Life, Columbia University Press: New York, 2005

* Margolin, Victor and Buchanan, Richard (eds). The Idea of Design A Design Issues Reader, The MIT Press: Cambridge Massachusetts, 1995.

Miller, Daniel, Home Possessions: Material Culture Behind Closed Doors, Berg: Oxford, 2001

Miller, Daniel (ed), Material Cultures: Why Some Things Matter, University College: London, 1998

* Moran, Joe, Reading the Everyday, Routledge: London, 2005

* Stiles, Kristine and Selz, Peter, Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art – A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings, University of California Press: Berkeley CA, 1996

Storey, John, Cultural Consumption and Everyday Life, Arnold: London, 1999

Tilley, Chris; Keane, Webb et al. Handbook of Material Culture, Sage: London 2006.

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Ramakers, Renny, Less + More – Droog Design in Context, 010 Publishers: Rotterdam, 2002

Ramakers, Renny and Gijs Bakker, Droog Design Spirit of the Nineties, 010 Publishers: Rotterdam, 1998

Wentworth, Richard, Thinking Aloud, Hayward Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, London for Arts Council of England, 1998

* = On Academic Reserve

JournalsThere are many relevant journals in the Library. To make them easier to find, those related to art and design will have a red line under them on the shelves.

For ideas related to the Everyday, try:

‘things’, which is specifically related to objects and the everyday, not up-to-date but back issues are available and very interesting.

Journal of Material Culture, Sage Publications Home Cultures, Berg Publications

DVD

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Droog Design: The Real Life of Objects (DVD 27 in library)

Some Interesting Websites on The Everyday: http://www.tate.org.uk/imap/imap2/ (TATE Modern, London)http://www.theeveryday.co.uk/about.asp (Bridge Street Gallery, London)

8. ACADEMIC RESERVE

Core texts will be placed on Academic Reserve in the Library. Academic Reserve is the desk at the far end of the Issue desk as you enter the Library. Books on Academic Reserve are issued for either a 2 hour loan or a one day loan. Books can be booked in advance, and 2 can be borrowed at a time. Fines for overdue Academic Reserve books are charged at the following rate: £1 per hour for the first hour overdue, 50 pence per hour thereafter, every hour, with a maximum fine of £15 per item.

TUTOR FOR PROGRAMME: Andrea Peach(a.peach@rgu.ac.uk)

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